Remake of Swedish vampire film is surprisingly effective

Matt Reeves' remake of Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson's atmospheric vampire thriller — both of which are based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's horror novel 'Let the Right One In' — might not be as restrained or as poetic as its predecessor. Like the earlier film, though, 'Let Me In' generates unexpected empathy for its central duo, a pair of 12-year-olds who form an unexpected bond. Grade: B.

While all of the promotional efforts leading up to the release of Olatunde Osunsanmi's movie seemingly wanted to capitalize on the similarities to 'Paranormal Activity,' the true kindred spirit for this tale of alien abduction is 'The Mothman Prophecies.' But Osunsanmi can't even generate the first, most basic kind of spooks Mark Pellington created in a simple phone call from beyond. Grade: D plus.